Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez picked up a primary challenge in February from former CNBC anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, and their June contest is already shaping up to be a very expensive and high-profile fight.
Caruso-Cabrera’s campaign announced this week that she’d raised $1 million during her first 47 days in the race and said that she had $800,000 to spend at the end of March. The well-funded U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which mostly backs Republicans, also announced that it would support Caruso-Cabrera’s campaign against AOC. Ocasio-Cortez has not yet unveiled her first quarter numbers, but she ended 2019 with $2.9 million in the bank.
Caruso-Cabrera has argued, “The national and local messages are clear: I will unite. AOC’s reign of division will end.” However, there’s no data yet to indicate if AOC’s national prominence and progressive stances have alienated enough voters in this Bronx and Queens district to make her vulnerable to a primary challenge.
Caruso-Cabrera herself could also have a difficult time appealing to Democratic voters in this safely blue seat. The challenger wrote a 2010 book titled, “You Know I'm Right: More Prosperity, Less Government” where she expressed her admiration for Ronald Reagan. (The book contained a forward by Larry Kudlow, who is now Trump’s economic adviser.) Caruso-Cabrera’s ties to big business groups like the Chamber may help her raise plenty of money, but her allies could also be an effective foil for AOC.
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